It was dark.
-- 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh
SAN FRANCISCO -- Well, it actually wasnt, not in any way that Harbaugh or the 49ers cared about. They saw the best the Pittsburgh Steelers could offer early, and found that PG&E might be a tougher foe.
Yes, the two blackouts at La Candeliere Tremulo made for some fun conversation, a few slanders about the old broad on Jamestown Ave. and some free advertising for the Jed-O-Dome in Santa Clara. But as a force of influence in the 49ers 20-3 win over Pittsburgh and its statuary quarterback, its effects were minimal.
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Indeed, the game itself actually turned on Pittsburghs first possession of the game, when after grinding out a steady drive that took them to the San Francisco 19, Ben Roethlisberger got greedy.
He tried to find Mike Wallace over the middle, in traffic, while throwing without a landing foot. He found Carlos Rogers instead, killing the Steelers best drive of the night, allowed the 49ers to get their footing, put together a 17-play drive of their own, and basically squeeze the game into submission.
And on a night like Monday, when subtleties told a better tale than the broader strokes, that said plenty.
The 49ers needed a big game against a hard team, and even though Roethlisberger was half the player he would normally be because of a bad ankle, they got it. They got it because of Rogers, and Dashon Goldson and Tarell Brown, all of whom intercepted Roethlisberger. They got it because Andy Lee can put a punt on a quarter and kick up three dimes. They got it because Aldon Smith and Justin Smith are not easily blocked, and because Isaac Sopoaga gummed up a lot of running lanes.
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They got it because they took advantage of Pittsburghs shortcomings and weaknesses and accentuated their strengths. They were, well, clinical.
And that is this team at its best. It will never be an overwhelming team except in the things that dont get noticed. They are a fantasy players worst nightmare, and they have 11 wins. Beat that with a stick.
The blackouts, then, were the only real glitches on the night, and there was nothing for anyone to do but sit in the dark and re-prepare for a game that had really played itself out pretty quickly.
Pittsburgh is like most teams, in that it goes as its quarterback goes, and Roethlisberger was essentially Charlie Batch. He couldnt leave the pocket, he couldnt throw the long ball with confidence, and the running game didnt give him enough breathing space. He had time to throw, but not the spaces to throw into, and became an ordinary purveyor of the sport.
And the 49ers never gave up the ball, and even squeezed out two diamonds from the coal bin that has been their red zone this year. They did so late in the third and early in the fourth, once with their own swift and sure drive and the other with a fumble by Roethlisberger at the Pittsburgh 17, caused by the one Smith and recovered by the other.
In fact, the second one came after the 49ers had stalled at the Steeler 10 (big surprise) and kicked a field goal to make it 16-3. Only linebacker Lawrence Timmons leaped into the air and upon a teammate to block the kick, a penalty which gave the 49ers a new set of four at the Pittsburgh 5.
And Harbaugh, who could have been spooked by his teams poor performances inside the 20, did the logical rather than the superstitious thing and, after an incompletion, ran Frank Gore left for the five-yard score that truly ended the game.
Except that the game was already over, pythoned into a state of desiccated lifelessness by the 49ers typical game.
So what did this game provide, then, in terms of useful long-term wisdom? Nothing that wasnt already known. People still cant run on them, rarely force turnovers by them, and get tortured by the two kickers, Lee and David Akers, just enough to make it hard to overcome ones own mistakes.
Maybe a healthy Roethlisberger doesnt throw that ball into coverage and Rogers arms. Maybe he does, only with a bit more zip. Or maybe the result is exactly the same. It matters not, except in some parallel universe.
But the larger truth was that the 49ers won in 49er fashion, without glitz or flash. Even without lights.
But it was anything but dark. Believe that.
Ray Ratto is a columnist for CSNBayArea.com.